Don’t look a gifted athlete in the mouth — it won’t be pretty

The Times

Tom Whipple Science Editor

Gerry Gajadharsingh writes:

“Yes, everything has an unintended consequence, although the overconsumption of sugary energy drinks and gels was to be predicted.

Despite brushing and flossing more regularly than the rest of the population, top level sportsmen and women still have poor oral hygiene, research has found. Scientists said that one explanation could be that they have too many sugary energy drinks.

A study tracked 350 Olympic and professional athletes before the 2016 Rio games, half had untreated tooth decay and a third said that problems with their teeth were bad enough to interfere with training. Footballers, for instance, had almost twice the risk of cavities that rowers did.

The expert concluded that “A high-sugar, high-carbohydrates diet is essential for fuelling performance and recovery,” he said. “That’s non-negotiable. So, we are seeing if we can find ways of mitigating the risk.”

In my opinion that is actually not necessary as many athletes are finding (assuming their clinicians understand metabolism). Training your metabolism to activate fat pathways and eating high quality protein, adequate dietary fat and low glycaemic load carbs can give you boundless energy. Perhaps have a look at the link below to my Sports Clinic page, when an elite athlete gives her story regarding how we helped her change her metabolism.”

Today’s elite athletes may have the fitness of racehorses but unfortunately, they often have the teeth of a nag.

Despite brushing and flossing more regularly than the rest of the population, top level sportsmen and women still have poor oral hygiene, research has found. Scientists said that one explanation could be that they have too many sugary energy drinks. However, they also said that intense exercise itself could aid tooth decay.

A study tracked 350 Olympic and professional athletes before the 2016 Rio games. Researchers found their dental health sharply contrasted with their physical health. Half had untreated tooth decay and a third said that problems with their teeth were bad enough to interfere with training.

These figures varied by discipline. Footballers, for instance, had almost twice the risk of cavities that rowers did. However, there was no discipline where the podium winners should not have been reticent about smiling for the camera. This was initially puzzling. The study, published in the British Dental Journal, found that 94 per cent of athletes brushed twice daily, compared with 75 per cent of the public at large, and 44 per cent flossed, more than double the figure for non-athletes. Yet their oral hygiene outcomes were just as bad.

“These individuals are of higher socioeconomic status, or have adopted the practices of those of higher socioeconomic status,” Ian Needleman, from University College London, said. “The fact that when we compare them to a more disadvantaged group, they don’t do better suggests there is a real problem.”

One obvious culprit is energy drinks & gels, which the athletes took in far larger quantities than other people did. Professor Needleman said that another possible cause was their training regime.

“Saliva is a fantastic medium for maintaining health,” he said. “In intensive training, there is a lot of air flow in and out, so the mouth is drier.” More than that, what saliva there is may be less effective. “When athletes engage in high-intensity training, that stress produces transient periods of immune suppression. That impacts on things like salivary immunoglobulin, one of the first lines of defence against infections.”

He said that he and his colleagues were working with the athletes to devise tailored oral health programmes that did not compromise on training.

“A high-sugar, high-carbohydrates diet is essential for fuelling performance and recovery,” he said. “That’s non-negotiable. So, we are seeing if we can find ways of mitigating the risk.”